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Description
The Influence of Music on the Human Mind and Emotions

Music is a central part of most human culture. It is one of those things that is totally unnecessary for survival but still ends up being common everywhere in the world, even more so than many visual forms of art. On a smaller scale, one can find music in many facets of everyday life, thanks mostly to the mass media. The questions asked in this essay are: what does music do for us, what does it do to us, and why is that important?

There are many purposes to music. First and foremost, most music is invented/performed for the pleasure of the musician and/or his audience. The pleasure derived from music is the principal reason why most of us listen to music when we consciously choose to. Music can also serve as a memory or communication aid. A mnemonic is a device used to assist in memory, and in fact many songs can be thought of as mnemonics. Rather than using phrases or acronyms, a song uses repetitive pitch variations or rhymes to improve memory of certain words or phrases. This is why is it easier to remember a song word-for-word than a story, and that is why early stories and tales were passed along through singing and bards. It is also the reason why advertising jingles are so effective for brand recognition; if more areas of the brain are engaged in encoding the same piece of information, it can be recalled more easily. When combined with dance, it helps keep the dancer(s) in the correct rhythm and often helps to remember what part of the dance comes next.

The more interesting question is, what does music do to us? The first issue to address is how lyrics (not the musical component) can affect people. There have been a few studies and reports done on the effect of lyrics on impressionable people, mostly concerned with rap music’s purported promotion of violence. The theory is that rap and the lifestyle associated with rap artists encourage people to act out the actions described in the lyrics, since the music is ‘cool.’ The fact of the matter is that this is an ongoing historical trend, and while the violence is not to be condoned, neither should the music be censored. For thousands of years, people have been singing songs in order to inflame themselves with a more violent spirit, from ancient Mediterranean warriors singing heroic ballads to drunks in a tavern singing fighting songs. And while it is true that the words of songs can have an obvious causal effect, the more subtle role is that played by the underlying music.

As mentioned before, the rhythm of music can help keep time. This importance of this role goes beyond dancing, however. The beats of a song can be used to coordinate any kind of physical effort, and classically was used to synchronize rowers of ships, farmers, and most any kind of manual laborer. Ceremonies of all types can include musical coordination, from religious affairs to sporting events. In artistic works that mix media, such as movies and music videos, the tempo of music is important to things like chase scenes and fighting scenes. However, unlike in physical labor, the melodies and harmonies (the tones) of music are also very important in mixed media. This is because of music’s power to elicit emotion.

Anyone who’s seen a movie with a love plot is familiar with the way music is used to help manipulate the emotions of the audience. If you think about it (and listen for it), it becomes clear that music is used in many different scenarios to generate a particular emotion, such as fear or joy. This is because music is often able to communicate emotion in a simpler way (and on a different level) than visual stimuli. When audio and visual stimuli are stacked on top of each other, they can serve to reinforce each other (the usual device in movies) or to enhance each other through contrast (such as playing softer or inappropriate music during a violent scene). What many people don’t realize is how sensitive their mental state is to music.

Music can produce a variety of complex effects on the mind: inspiration, empowerment, depression, etc. A person who is familiar with the emotive power of music can use it to their advantage. For instance, if there is a lot of work that needs to be done, listening to music that makes you feel more powerful (it may be fast paced, or have evocative crescendos, or some other device) often helps complete the task sooner, and even if it doesn’t, your mood will generally be consistent from start to finish. Other kinds of music can have other effects. This is why people tend to listen to radios or MP3 players when working out, or why music can help us relax.

These effects are interesting because while they produce physical changes, they work through the mind. Therefore, if you are aware of the effect that a particular type of music will have on you, you can either enhance or minimize it. If you listen to heavy metal while running, you might be able to better pace yourself by taking advantage of the music’s effects. On the flip side of that, knowing that a certain kind of music tends to put you to sleep would allow you to resist the effects if, say, that song came on the radio when you had work that needed to be done.

Keep these ideas in mind next time you decide which MP3 to listen to.

Description
The Influence of Music on the Human Mind and Emotions

Music is a central part of most human culture. It is one of those things that is totally unnecessary for survival but still ends up being common everywhere in the world, even more so than many visual forms of art. On a smaller scale, one can find music in many facets of everyday life, thanks mostly to the mass media. The questions asked in this essay are: what does music do for us, what does it do to us, and why is that important?

There are many purposes to music. First and foremost, most music is invented/performed for the pleasure of the musician and/or his audience. The pleasure derived from music is the principal reason why most of us listen to music when we consciously choose to. Music can also serve as a memory or communication aid. A mnemonic is a device used to assist in memory, and in fact many songs can be thought of as mnemonics. Rather than using phrases or acronyms, a song uses repetitive pitch variations or rhymes to improve memory of certain words or phrases. This is why is it easier to remember a song word-for-word than a story, and that is why early stories and tales were passed along through singing and bards. It is also the reason why advertising jingles are so effective for brand recognition; if more areas of the brain are engaged in encoding the same piece of information, it can be recalled more easily. When combined with dance, it helps keep the dancer(s) in the correct rhythm and often helps to remember what part of the dance comes next.

The more interesting question is, what does music do to us? The first issue to address is how lyrics (not the musical component) can affect people. There have been a few studies and reports done on the effect of lyrics on impressionable people, mostly concerned with rap music’s purported promotion of violence. The theory is that rap and the lifestyle associated with rap artists encourage people to act out the actions described in the lyrics, since the music is ‘cool.’ The fact of the matter is that this is an ongoing historical trend, and while the violence is not to be condoned, neither should the music be censored. For thousands of years, people have been singing songs in order to inflame themselves with a more violent spirit, from ancient Mediterranean warriors singing heroic ballads to drunks in a tavern singing fighting songs. And while it is true that the words of songs can have an obvious causal effect, the more subtle role is that played by the underlying music.

As mentioned before, the rhythm of music can help keep time. This importance of this role goes beyond dancing, however. The beats of a song can be used to coordinate any kind of physical effort, and classically was used to synchronize rowers of ships, farmers, and most any kind of manual laborer. Ceremonies of all types can include musical coordination, from religious affairs to sporting events. In artistic works that mix media, such as movies and music videos, the tempo of music is important to things like chase scenes and fighting scenes. However, unlike in physical labor, the melodies and harmonies (the tones) of music are also very important in mixed media. This is because of music’s power to elicit emotion.

Anyone who’s seen a movie with a love plot is familiar with the way music is used to help manipulate the emotions of the audience. If you think about it (and listen for it), it becomes clear that music is used in many different scenarios to generate a particular emotion, such as fear or joy. This is because music is often able to communicate emotion in a simpler way (and on a different level) than visual stimuli. When audio and visual stimuli are stacked on top of each other, they can serve to reinforce each other (the usual device in movies) or to enhance each other through contrast (such as playing softer or inappropriate music during a violent scene). What many people don’t realize is how sensitive their mental state is to music.

Music can produce a variety of complex effects on the mind: inspiration, empowerment, depression, etc. A person who is familiar with the emotive power of music can use it to their advantage. For instance, if there is a lot of work that needs to be done, listening to music that makes you feel more powerful (it may be fast paced, or have evocative crescendos, or some other device) often helps complete the task sooner, and even if it doesn’t, your mood will generally be consistent from start to finish. Other kinds of music can have other effects. This is why people tend to listen to radios or MP3 players when working out, or why music can help us relax.

These effects are interesting because while they produce physical changes, they work through the mind. Therefore, if you are aware of the effect that a particular type of music will have on you, you can either enhance or minimize it. If you listen to heavy metal while running, you might be able to better pace yourself by taking advantage of the music’s effects. On the flip side of that, knowing that a certain kind of music tends to put you to sleep would allow you to resist the effects if, say, that song came on the radio when you had work that needed to be done.

Keep these ideas in mind next time you decide which MP3 to listen to.